it is difficult to see why people would want many popular religious beliefs to be true, many of which inspire feelings of terror, guilt, shame, anxiety, and dread. The pervasive belief in some version of hell (i.e., eternal damnation and torment) is the clearest illustration, but there are many others. Although people often talk about how religious ideas are “comforting” or “reassuring”, the literal content of many such beliefs is highly distressing.